The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented the issuance of a life sentence by the Wad Madani Criminal Court against Sudanese writer, historian, and former Minister of Information Khalid Baheri, following months of arrest and detention by Military Intelligence in Wad Madani.
According to CFJ’s documentation, Baheri remained in custody for nearly six months without any official disclosure of the charges during the initial stages of his detention and without being allowed family visits or communication—constituting a clear violation of personal liberty guarantees and due process rights.
CFJ noted that Baheri was held in a Military Intelligence facility near the Pediatric Surgery Hospital in Wad Madani, alongside approximately 30 young activists involved in protests and voluntary work, as part of a broader arrest campaign targeting civilian actors.
The committee stressed that the sentence raises serious human rights concerns, particularly given the prolonged detention, lack of transparency in the investigation process, and restrictions on fundamental rights—chief among them the right to a fair trial and access to the outside world.
CFJ called for full respect of legal and constitutional standards, ensuring defendants’ right to defense, and ending the use of prolonged detention and harsh sentences as tools of reprisal outside the framework of law.
